1996 Atlanta Olympic Games
The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, took place in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Georgia Dome from July 20–25 and July 28–29. Format of Competition The gymnastics competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics was carried out in three stages: *Competition I - The team competition/qualification round in which gymnasts, including those who were not part of a team, performed both compulsory and optional exercises. Six of the seven team members performed on each apparatus, while only the five highest scores during each rotation were used to determined the overall team total. The thirty-six highest scoring gymnasts in the all-around qualified to the individual all-around competition. The eight highest-scoring gymnasts on each apparatus qualified to the final for that apparatus. *Competition II - The individual all-around competition, in which those who qualified from Competition I performed exercises on each apparatus. The final score of each gymnast was determined by adding the scores earned by her on each of the four apparatuses in the women's competition. *Competition III - The apparatus finals, in which those who qualified during Competition I performed an exercise on the individual apparatus on which she had qualified. The final score of each gymnast determined solely by the score earned by her on the apparatus during this competition. Each country was limited to three gymnasts in the all-around final and two gymnasts in each apparatus final. This was the first and, to date, only Olympics where each team was allowed seven members instead of the usual six. Competition Schedule Results Notable Moments *The US women won the team gold medal for the first time in Olympic history. Most notably, Kerri Strug vaulted on an injured leg and "stuck it" on one foot to win them the gold. This team was nicknamed the "Magnificent 7". *Ukraine's Lilia Podkopayeva became the fourth gymnast, and the first since Ludmilla Tourischeva in 1972, to follow a World All-Around title with an Olympic All-Around title. Podkopayeva also won Ukraine its first Olympic gold medals as an independent nation, and became the fourth gymnast to win both the all-around and an individual event gold medal at a single Olympics, along with Larisa Latynina, Věra Čáslavská, and Nadia Comăneci. Podkopayeva is also the first and, to date, the only gymnast to win the Olympic All-Around Title from a team that didn't even medal. *Svetlana Khorkina won Russia its first Olympic gold medal as an independent nation. *USA's Shannon Miller was the first American gymnast to win an individual gold medal at a fully-attended Olympics. Miller was also the first American gymnast to win two gold medals at a single Olympics. *The highest recorded score was 9.887, by Lilia Podkopayeva during the all-around and floor exercise event final. Controversies *Romania's Alexandra Marinescu had originally qualified for the all-around, but she was pulled out and replaced with Simona Amanar by the head Romanian coach, Octavian Bellu. Bellu said he made the switch because Marinescu "wasn't working hard enough". *The foreign delegations complained about the pro-US crowds and how loudly they cheered for the Americans. Russia's Roza Galiyeva dealt with the unnaturally loud crowds twice when she was on floor exercise. The first time was during the team final, after Kerri Strug's "vault heard around the world", the second time was during the all-around, right when Shannon Miller dismounted on balance beam. Both times, the cheers for the Americans got so loud, Galiyeva couldn't hear her floor music, and she ended up in tears after her routines. Medal Count Gallery Geodome.jpg|The Georgia Dome during the competition Mag7.jpg|'Team Gold Medalists:' USA (from left: Amanda Borden, Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow, Jaycie Phelps, Dominique Moceanu, Kerri Strug, Shannon Miller) tumblr_msvagqTDQ51so8knxo2_r1_1280.jpg|'All-Around Medalists (from left):' Simona Amânar (ROU), Lavinia Miloşovici (ROU), Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR), Gina Gogean (ROU) tumblr_msvagqTDQ51so8knxo3_r1_1280.jpg|'Vault Medalists (from left):' Gina Gogean (ROU), Simona Amânar (ROU), Mo Huilan (CHN) 1996olympicsubef.jpg|'Uneven Bars Medalists (from left):' Bi Wenjing (CHN), Svetlana Khorkina (RUS), Amy Chow (USA) tumblr_msvagqTDQ51so8knxo5_r1_500.jpg|'Balance Beam Medalists (from left):' Gina Gogean (ROU), Shannon Miller (USA), Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR) tumblr_msvagqTDQ51so8knxo6_r1_400.jpg|'Floor Exercise Medalists (from left):' Dominique Dawes (USA), Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR), Simona Amânar (ROU) Category:Olympic Games Category:1996 Competitions